The following constitutes improvements over my U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,548 issued Aug. 31, 1982 which is incorporated in its entirety herewith by reference.
More particularly, the instant invention directs itself to continuing developments over applicant's earlier patent which reflects refinements associated with the basic machine as these refinements have become evident when using and fabricating the earlier machines.
The following citations reflect the state of the art of which applicant is aware insofar as these patents appear to be germane to the process at hand.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. 535,228 3/1895 Steiner U.S. Pat. No. 1,219,327 3/1917 Keeler U.S. Pat. No. 1,306,317 6/1919 St. John U.S. Pat. No. 1,826,551 10/1931 Krenzel U.S. Pat. No. 1,928,868 10/1933 Poen U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,942 8/1953 Grant et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,832 5/1962 Siefried U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,196 7/1967 Grant U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,444 6/1971 Sammann et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,448 8/1971 Boskirk U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,737 3/1972 Grant U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,152 4/1974 Storm et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,792 9/1977 Shriver et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,396 4/1978 Fritz et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,695 2/1979 Sammann U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,355 7/1979 Blake et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,527 8/1980 Schrubb et al ______________________________________
None of these citations touch at the heart of the invention associated with the instant application.
The instant application is distinguished over the known prior art by firstly the addition of a shroud which overlies a portion of the chain used to encourage downed stalks of corn to pass over the harvester snout and into the throat. By providing a protective shroud, the opportunity for corn stalks to become impacted in certain areas of the chain have been minimized and an enhanced feed rate of the corn stalks into harvester has been evidenced while simultaneously protecting human welfare.
Secondly, the rollers which ar oriented on the laterally extreme snouts of the combine have been modified in two ways. The roller is maintained substantially cylindrical along its entire extent, and the vanes are radially extended from the roller and linearly along the entire path. In addition, the spindle which carries the roller driven by the earlier bevelled gear is now supported in a novel manner so that the roller can rotate about the axle supporting one of the two bevel gears, and in this manner provides a "floating" capability with articulation about the bevelled gears driving axis to accommodate varied terrain and stalk feed rate.
Thirdly, a chain support and tensioning instrumentality is provided on a lowermost face of the chain guard which not only provides appropriate tensioning of the chain but also instantly alters the effective force of the chain against downed corn stalks.
Fourthly, some of the metal shafts used in driving the various and diverse instrumentalities of the combine have been modified for improved weight, balancing and loading capabilities.